Body Psychotherapy Resources

Jacqueline Carleton has been in private practice in New York City and taught extensively in europe and latin america for the past 30 years. Joining the board of Directors of USabp and founding the USa body psychotherapy Journal has been a further delight. In addition to Core energetics, Somatic experiencing and other body psychotherapy modalities, she has continued to study and teach object relations and relational psychoanalysis and now the bridge connecting them, neuroscience. She loves working with the Journal staff, authors (and potential authors), students and university and modality faculty to broaden and deepen the range of the Journal. Jacquie is also an eabp Member and has joined us on the publications Committee. FALL 2008.

Recent publications

Badenoch, b. ( 008). Being a Brain-wise Therapist: A Practical Guide to Interpersonal neurobiology. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. ISBN: 978-0-393-70554-6
this latest volume in the Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology is characterized by Daniel Siegel in its Foreword as ‘filled with the wisdom of a seasoned front-line therapist who writes like a point and understands science as if she were a full-time academician…. she seamlessly weaves scientific theory with humanistic interventions.’ No exaggeration. What she characterizes as the four principles of neurobiology – neural integration, right-brain to right-brain connection, a visceral sense of therapist health, and empathic awareness – organize and focus this book. Her treatment of neurobiology is perfectly geared to the clinician (it ‘capture[s] enough detail for clarity and enough romance to encourage integration and whole-brain retention’), as is her discussion of neurobiological correlates of some familiar diagnostic categories. as may be evident from the four principles, the approach is embodied. bodily awareness of self and patient inhabits virtually every page. and, in line with the stress on the importance of therapist health, brief exercises for the reader are scattered throughout.

Bakal, D. (1999). Minding the Body:
Clinical Uses of somatic Awareness. New York: the guilford press ISBN: 1-67 30-661-0
this author makes a strong case for incorporating body awareness into the treatment of many disease entities. Written for health professionals who are not accustomed to this point of view, he gives concrete examples of disease entities and of cases whose treatment is importantly augmented by awareness of body processes when their tendency would be to escape embodiment.

Dougherty, N.J. & West, J.W. ( 007).
The Matrix and Meaning of Character: An Archetypal and Developmental Approach: searching for the wellsprings of spirit.
New York: taylor & Francis ISBN: 978-0-415-40300-9
as suggested by the title, this book by two Jungian analysts with a clear grasp of object relations and even infant research and neuroscience interweaves all of these perspectives with the Jungian literature of archetypes and myths. Its treatment of character types/styles will be familiar to any modality derived from the reichian or bioenergetic tradition, (including bodynamics). although they only directly mention the body of the schizoid character, much of the language they employ is physically evocative if not descriptive. body psychotherapists will find the richness of their treatment of each character a wonderful source to enlarge and deepen our perspectives.

Feinstein, D., eden, D., and Craig, g. ( 005). The Promise of energy Psychology: Revolutionary Tools for Dramatic Personal Change. penguin
an in-depth manual for emotional Freedom technique with many useful illustrations. the authors’ speculations into the mechanisms of energy psychology along with substantiating case examples lend credibility to the practice, citing admitted skepticism. We see how ptSD related symptoms form the basis of everyday problems and how to apply this knowledge to our own lives. (Calin Cheznoiu)

Gordon, J.S. ( 008). Unstuck: Your Guide to the seven-stage Journey Out of Depression. New York: the penguin press
ISBN: 978-1-594 0-166-0 Utilizing as a framework Joseph Campbell’s archetypal journey of the hero, James S. gordon, MD, founder/director of the Center for Mind-body Medicine in Washington DC, presents a truly integrative approach to the treatment of depression aimed mainly at those suffering from it who are interested in non-pharmacological treatments. He makes an excellent case for the point of view that depression is not a disease in the way we generally understand pathology. although its seriousness is belied by its exterior (the catchy title and bright red cover), its interior is packed with valuable information gleaned from a lengthy and distinguished career in integrative medicine. In addition to a both sophisticated and easy-to-read text with multitudinous exercises (including bp) and case examples, there is a carefully selected annotated bibliography and an extensive list of resources (including the USabp). body psychotherapists will find , in addition to the rare pleasure of a sophisticated treatment of their own field, much that they can incorporate from related modalities of treatment.

Hover-Kramer, D. ( 00 ). Creative energies: Integrative energy Psychotherapy for self-expression and Healing. W.W. Norton & Co. Inc.
Hover-Kramer offers an illustrative introduction to the practice of energy psychology full of exercises, case examples, studies, and rich insights. particularly useful is her approach to the concept of healing, a reminder to operate from a positive outlook while tapping into the natural capacity for human creativity that we seem to pass over in modern medicine, which applies to any therapeutic approach. an interesting, informative, well-written book that does justice to the energy psychotherapy field. (Calin Cheznoiu)

Juhan, D. (2002). Touched by the Goddess:
The Physical, Psychological, and Spiritual Powers of Bodywork. Barrytown, New York: Station Hill Press. ISBN: 1-58177-081-2
The author of the classic Job’s Body, A Handbook for Bodywork, has collected essays first published between 1994 and 1996, in a small volume that extends his original insights about the impact of touch< on our organisms’ development. He applies his and others’ knowledge of the power of touch to interpersonal and social problems, speculating ‘what positive effects on the muddled relationships, ineffective social institutions confused cultural values and competitive spiritual aspirations’ their work could have.

Karen, R. (1998). Becoming Attached: First Relationships and How They Shape Our Capacity to Love. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 978-0-19-511501-7 Written for parents and parents-to-be, this comprehensive, readable treatment of attachment theory, research and sociopolitical implications is an excellent first introduction to the subject. It is wide-ranging and even includes some interesting
critiques.

Kurtz, R. (1990). Body-Centered Psychotherapy: The Hakomi Method. Mendocino,
CA: Life Rhythm ISBN: 978-0940795-23-5 This new edition of the Hakomi classic originally published in 1990 has been reissued complete with introductions, bibliography and even an index! It is a straightforward but entertaining introduction to this gentle but powerful body psychotherapy.

Marrone, R. (1990). Body of Knowledge: An Introduction to Body/Mind Psychology. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. ISBN:0-7914-0388-2 This brief and delightful introduction to body psychotherapy introduces the reader to its many facets with unusual clarity and insightfulness. In one of his final chapters, he quotes clinical vignettes, session notes and case profiles from more than a dozen well-known practitioners in order to communicate the flavor of how body/mind healing actually takes place.

Miller, A. (2004). The Body Never Lies: The Lingering Effects of Hurtful Parenting. New York: W.W. Norton and Company. ISBN: 978-0-393-32863-9 In this her latest book, Alice Miller offers examples from literature and life of how denial of ‘true and strong emotions’ inevitably have an effect on the body. She mentions particularly the commandment to ‘Honor thy father and thy mother’ as inhibiting the work of healing even into adulthood. The result, she illustrates are various forms of physical illness. She has a particularly interesting exploration of anorexia.

O’Neil, J. (1989). The Communicative Body: Studies in Communicative Philosophy, Politics, and Sociology. Northwestern University Press A philosophical exploration into the phenomenology of communication covering infant self-awareness to the whole of society. The book starts from an observation that the entirety of inter-subjective existence can only emanate from the make-up of the body which must itself be a reflection of this same knowledge. (Calin Cheznoiu)

Paris, G. (2007). Wisdom of the Psyche: Depth Psychology After Neuroscience. New York : Routledge. ISBN: 978-0415-43777-6 In this account of her encounter with her own shadow side through recovery from a brain injury. She points out that what the psyche does not make conscious, the body will. The subtitle, however, is misleading. Neuroscience is equated with the DSM. She does not deal with the application of neuroscience to psychoanalysis and developmental psychology that has exploded over the last 15 years.

Ramos, D. G. (2004). The Psyche of the Body, A Jungian Approach to Psychosomatics. New York: Routledge. ISBN: 1-58391-897-3 After an interesting introductory chapter on the history of models of disease and the healing process, Dr. Ramos briefly introduces analytic concepts and then describes her conceptualization of disease as a symbolized process. Eschewing the mind/body split as untenable, she analyzes three organic diseases as examples and then presents several case vignettes.

Solomon, M. F. & Siegel, D. J. (2003). Healing Trauma: Attachment, Mind, Body, and Brain. New York: WW Norton. ISBN: 978-0-393-70396-2 The outcome of a conference described by the participants as electrifying in its energy and enthusiasm, this volume is equally divided between theoretical and clinical articles. The theoretical articles by Daniel Siegel; Hesse, Main, Abrams and Rifkin; Shore and van der Kolk offer explorations of the possible developmental origins of risk factors for developing long-term sequalae of trauma. The clinical articles by Francine Shapiro and Louise Maxfield; Diana Fosha; Robert J. Neborsky and Marion F. Solomon, all of which include extensive case material and transcripts, building on this developmental and descriptive framework, present in detail their varied approaches to treatment. Somatic experience, awareness and interventions are highlighted in virtually every chapter.

Winter 2008/2009

Beauregard, M. (Resources Winter 2008- 92004). Consciousness, Emotional Self- Regulation and the Brain. Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. ISBN: 90-272-5187-8. Along with the Handbook of Emotion Regulation reviewed below, this is one of the most intriguing recent collections of articles treating self-regulation. The various theoretical and evidential articles explore developmental perspectives on self-regulation and also explore the capacity of human consciousness to volitionally influence the brain’s electrical activity or modulate the impact of emotions on the psychoneuroendocrine- immune network. Of particular interest is the chapter entitled ‘Consciousness, Emotional Self-Regulation, and the Psychosomatic Network’.

Cornell, W.F. (2008). Expectations in Transactional Analysis: The Meech Lake Papers. Pleasanton, CA: TA Press. ISBN: 978-0-89489-007-9 (Reviewed by Michael Soth) This book is relevant to Body Psychotherapists, well beyond what its title suggests. As many people will know, especially in the US, Bill has long been engaged in the integration of TA and Body Psychotherapy with relational psychoanalysis, having originally trained in both TA and Radix. A good chunk of the book (p.133 – 214) is about the body in psychotherapy and traverses Bill’s development in body-centered work.

Why did he train in two and is trying to integrate three approaches? Why couldn’t he just settle for one and do that one ‘properly’?
He pulls no punches about what made him look beyond the confines of his initially chosen approach: ‘Some transactional analysts at that time, trained in similar ways, used cathartic body interventions to promote regression. It was a style of therapeutic work that had been very beneficial for me, but I became increasingly concerned about its efficacy (safety even) with some of my clients. I attempted to raise questions among my Reichian peers, but most Reichians were zealots and dismissed my questions, explaining my clients’ difficulties as manifestations of characterological defenses.
Then one day, during the 1980’s, I walked into my waiting room to get a woman with whom I’ve been doing Radix for several years. She had come seeking body therapy because she had a long history of childhood sexual and physical abuse. As I approached her, she drew back her fist and smashed me in the face, screaming: “I can’t leave you, but what you are doing is destroying me”.
She was right, as we had both witnessed her becoming increasingly disorganized and abreactive as we continued to work in our familiar, dramatic Reichian mode.’

To Bill’s credit, he took this experience seriously and asked other clients who confirmed that they had similar experiences.
Then started an extended investigation into trauma literature and one of the chapters of the book ‘Consequences of Childhood Bodily Abuse’ was written during this ‘period of self-questioning’.
Through later supervision with psychoanalyst Christopher Bollas and his collaboration with Jim McLaughlin, Bill’s approach began to increasingly include the perspective of relational psychoanalysis. This evolution of his work comes across in the selection of chapters throughout the book, written over a period of 20 years. What is striking to some of us Body Psychotherapists here in the UK, is how much of his development is paralleled by our explorations here, and the possible reintegration of the two traditions of psychoanalysis and Body Psychotherapy which have been separated since Reich’s expulsion from the International Psychoanalytic Association in the 1930’s.
Bill’s struggles with some of the assumptions, methods and meta-psychology of traditional Body Psychotherapy are very similar to the process some of us went through in the development of the work of the Chiron Centre for Body Psychotherapy (see Asheri 2008, Soth 2006, 2008 or see www.chiron.org or www.soth.co.uk).
Unlike some Body Psychotherapists, however, who in their development have swung all the way away from a body-oriented way of working towards an analytic stance that categorically excludes touch, both Bill and the Chiron faction of Body Psychotherapy here in the UK have been trying to integrate not only the theories, but also the technique and interventions. Bill’s chapter on ‘Body-centered Psychotherapy’ (p. 176-195) gives a succinct overview, and affirms the importance of the therapist’s conflict and uncertainty (as does another chapter, entitled ‘The Inevitability of Uncertainty, the Necessity of Doubt and the Development of Trust’).
Again, this is similar to the polarisations and discussions we have had over the years (one particular exchange relevant to this topic occurred in the Journal ‘Self & Society’, in response to Lavinia Gomez’ elegantly clarifying paper ‘Humanistic or psychodynamic - what is the difference and do we have to make a choice?’ – both papers are available on www.soth.co.uk).
I am partly mentioning these references as it seems to me that the kind of integration between TA , Body Psychotherapy and relational psychoanalysis that Bill has been pursuing (using one approach to bring out and deconstruct the dogmatisms and blindspots of the other) will at some point also lead to the formulation of new concepts and a new, more integrated language (where we can eventually formulate all dynamics in the therapeutic relationship as bodymind processes). This, in my view, is something that has not clearly happened in Bill’s writing, but it is more developed here in the UK (I have written, for example, about formulating transference and countertransference through an extended notion of parallel process which brings together Reich’s functionalism and the parallels between the mind-body relationship and the client-therapist relationship – Soth 2005). Here I see some room for Bill’s integration and our own here in the UK cross-fertilising and complementing each other.

A couple of chapters on the body are framed in the language of TA , where Bill uses a holistic perspective to de-construct some of the oversimplifications of TA theory (‘Babies, Brains and Bodies: Somatic Foundations of the Child Ego State’). And two sections of the book are addressing the community of TA therapists more directly. Some acquaintance with TA theory is therefore helpful if as a Body Psychotherapist you want to read the whole book cover to cover.
I have not yet read the whole book, but will be doing so as I have been asked to write a more substantial review. But even this cursory overview would not be complete without a comment on the special and exquisite quality of Bill’s writing. He explicitly comments how his style and process of writing have changed over the years, to some extent deliberately and in response to profound feedback (Bill quotes one such feedback by Jim Mc Laughlin in his introduction to the book). He is trying to write in a way that does justice to that integration of body, emotion and mind, which we are pursuing in therapy. But although one of the chapters challenges the possible overemphasis on relationality (both in practice and in our developmental theories, drawing attention to the extent that subjectivity is rooted in solitude), Bill’s own bodymind integration is never in danger of becoming a solipsistic bubble. Every paragraph involves the reader and builds a relationship. The relational perspective here does not remain a set of ideas or attitudes even – it comes alive in the writing and Bill is present with you as you are reading the book. This I find extraordinarily inspiring.
I wholeheartedly agree with George Downing’s assessment on the cover of the book: ‘At last we have some of Bill Cornell’s fine writings gathered in one place. Whether the topic is transference/countertransference, emotion, the body, or ethics, Cornell’s perspective illuminates. Few books on psychotherapy are as original as this one.’

References:

Gomez, L. (2004) ‘Humanistic or psychodynamic - what is the difference and do we have to make a choice?’ Self & Society Vol. 31 No.6 Feb/Mar 2004

Soth, M. (2004) ‘Integrating humanistic techniques into a transference-countertransference perspective’ - A Response to ‘Humanistic or psychodynamic - what is the difference and do we have to make a choice?’ by Lavinia Gomez. Self & Society, 32(1), Apr./May 2004, p. 44 – 52

Gross, J. J. (2007). Handbook of Emotion Regulation. New York: Guilford Press. ISBN: 978-1-59385-148-4
More than 650 pages long, this compendium of much of the best recent theory and research on emotion regulation includes sections on the biological bases, cognitive foundations, developmental approaches, personality processes and individual differences, social influences, and selected clinical applications. Of particular interest to body psychotherapists would be Calkins and Hill’s chapter, ‘Caregiver Influences on Emerging Emotion Regulation, Biological and Environmental Transactions in Early Development’ and Shaver and Mikulincer’s chapter on Adult Attachment Strategies and the Regulation of Emotion.’

Hartley, L. (Ed.). (2009). Contemporary Body Psychotherapy: The Chiron Approach. NY: Routledge. ISBN: 978-0-415-43939-8
Editor Linda Hartley’s earlier book, Somatic Psychology: Body, Mind and Meaning (2004) was a sophisticated description of her personal, holistic and transpersonal approach to somatic psychology as a mode of human growth and healing, embracing ‘both the reparative and healing potentials of bodywork and movement therapy, and also their potential to facilitate entry into a psychotherapeutic process and dialogue with the unconscious.’ Her incisive approach is again obvious in this collection of articles by trainers and therapists at the well-known Chiron Centre for Body Psychotherapy in London. Four themes are treated extensively and often personally by the authors: the roots and development of the Chiron approach; self regulation as an evolving concept at the heart of body psychotherapy; the evolution of an embodied, integral and relational approach to psychotherapy; an integrative model of trauma therapy.

Orban, C. (2008). Body in Parts: Bodies and Identity in Sade and Guibert. Bethlehem, PA : Lehigh University Press. ISBN: 978-0-93422 3-97-3.
A scholar of comparative literature explores the limits of bodies and identities through the prism of works by Herve Guibert and the Marquis de Sade, separated by centuries but connected in their explorations of the temporal and spatial limits of corporality.

Payne, H. (Ed.). (2008). Supervision of Dance Movement Psychotherapy. NY: Routledge. ISBN: 978-0-415-41343-5
In her thoughtful introductory chapter, Dr. Payne points out that this is the first book to document the ‘art and science of professional supervision in the field of dance and movement psychotherapy.’ She has brought together an international group of sophisticated contributors who are professional psychologists and psychotherapists in addition to their dance movement training in a variety of modalities. Each article addresses a different aspect of supervision utilizing psychodynamic understandings of what is expressed and symbolized in movement.

Schmidt, L.J. & Warner, B (ed). (2002). Panic: Origins, Insight, and Treatment. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books. ISBN: 1-55643-396-4.
This wide-ranging anthology presents the many layers of the panic experience with contributions by authors, artists, poets, psychologists and physicians. Among them are three articles by body psychotherapists: ‘Panic, Biology and Reason: Giving the Body its Due,’ by Peter Levine; ‘There Really Is Something to Be Afraid of: A Body- Oriented Psychotherapy for the Treatment of Panic Disorder’ by Helen Resneck-Sanns, and ‘Body Approaches to the Treatment of Panic’ by Ron Robbins. All include considerable case material. • Wehrenberg, M. (2008) The 10 Best Ever Anxiety Management Techniques. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN: 978-0-393-70556 Margaret Wehrenberg’s The 10 Best Ever Anxiety Management Techniques offers thorough explanations of the many facets of anxiety conditions and ways to cope with them. Wehrenberg includes easily comprehendible details about the neurological processes, physical causes, and symptoms of anxiety. Her section on Managing the Anxious Body proves useful for body psychotherapy practitioners and patients alike, as she presents helpful breathing techniques, relaxation methods, suggestions for eliminating physical and environmental stressors, and step-by-step instructions for practicing mindfulness. Thus anxiety is illustrated as a largely physical burden that can be self-controlled and alleviated. Presenting anxiety as a manageable, prevalent, and treatable in a variety of ways offers a true sense of comfort to those afflicted. (Reviewed by Corinne Bagish)

White, K. (2004). Touch: Attachment and the Body. London: Karnac Books. ISBN: 1-85575-361-8
This little volume is the John Bowlby Memorial Conference Monograph 2003. Represented are infant researchers, neuroscientists and psychoanalysts. Colwyn Trevarthan, in ‘Intimate Contact from Birth’ provides evidence of the importance of touch in the development of the infant. And Susie Orbach courageously takes on the psychoanalytic establishment in two lectures suggesting that the attitude toward touch needs to be rethought. She provides examples from her own practice of the importance of the body and possibly of physical contact in the psychoanalytic encounter.

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